Sordarin derivatives (Glaxo Wellcome) are a new class of compounds that selectively inhibit fungal
protein synthesis and have a broad spectrum of activity. Systemic
coccidioidomycosis was established in female CD-1 mice infected with Coccidioides immitis, and
therapy was begun on day 4 with either
GM193663,
GM211676,
GM237354,
fluconazole, or no treatment; compounds were given twice daily orally for 19 days at 20 or 100 mg/kg/day. The serum pharmacokinetics of the compounds were studied in uninfected mice. The MICs of
GM193663,
GM211676, and
GM237354 for C. immitis were 1.56, 0.39, and 0.39 microgram/ml, respectively, and the minimum fungicidal concentrations were 6.25, 3.13, and 0.39 microgram/ml, respectively. Peak serum levels (sampled at 1 to 2 h) after a single 50-mg/kg dose were 9.8 microgram/ml for
GM193663, 13 microgram/ml for
GM211676, and 6.0 microgram/ml for
GM237354. No accumulation occurred after 19 days of dosing, and peak levels were lower at 3.2 microgram/ml for
GM193663, 4.0 microgram/ml for
GM211676, and <2.5 microgram/ml for
GM237354. We estimate that the t(1/2) for each compound in serum is <2 h. In vivo, all compounds showed dose-responsive efficacy, significantly prolonging survival over the control groups (100% lethal dose); 80 to 100% of the mice given the 100-mg/kg doses of
fluconazole or a GM
drug survived. All 100-mg/kg/day regimens were equivalent. At 20 mg/kg/day,
GM211676 was equivalent to 100 mg of
fluconazole/kg/day, indicating that
GM211676 was approximately 5-fold more efficacious. No mice surviving the 49 days of the experiment were free of
infection. All drugs dose responsively reduced the fungal burden in the spleen, liver, and lungs, and
GM237354 at 100 mg/kg/day was superior to all of the other regimens in the reduction of burden in all organs. C. immitis was susceptible both in vitro and in vivo to the GM compounds, which were found to be equivalent or superior to
fluconazole. These results are encouraging, indicating that further testing in other models of
fungal disease is warranted.